Table 1.
Demographics and disease activity variables in the postal questionnaire
| Parameter | Treatment | All n = 1061 Mean (s.d.) | Women n = 769 (73%) Mean (s.d.) | Men n = 292 (27%) Mean (s.d.) | P-value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, years | 67 (13) | 66 (13) | 70 (12) | <0.001 | |
| Disease duration, years | 15 (3.8) | 16 (3.8) | 16 (3.8) | 0.6 | |
| HAQ (0‒3) | 0.5 (0.6) | 0.6 (0.6) | 0.4 (0.5) | <0.001 | |
| EQ-5D (0‒1) | 0.7 (0.2) | 0.7 (0.3) | 0.8 (0.2) | <0.001 | |
| NRS pain (0‒10, best to worst) | 3.5 (2.5) | 3.6 (2.5) | 3.0 (2.5) | <0.001 | |
| NRS fatigue (0‒10, best to worst) | 4.0 (2.8) | 4.4 (2.9) | 3.4 (2.6) | <0.001 | |
| NRS global health (0‒10, best to worst) | 3.0 (2.4) | 3.2 (2.5) | 2.8 (2.4) | 0.027 | |
| Tender joints, 28-joint counta | 5.6 (6.6) | 5.6 (6.8) | 4.3 (6.1) | 0.003 | |
| Swollen joints, 28-joint counta | 3.0 (4.9) | 3.3 (5.0) | 2.3 (4.5) | 0.002 | |
| Medical treatment | No DMARD | 23 | 23 | 24 | |
| cDMARD | 44 | 43 | 47 | 0.360 | |
| bDMARD | 33 | 34 | 29 |
a
Tender/swollen joints, self-administered assessment of number of tender and swollen joints based on the 28-joint count.
b
DMARD: biological DMARD; cDMARD: conventional DMARD; EQ-5D: EuroQol-5 dimensions; NRS: numerical rating scale.